By JIMMY GOLEN Associated Press
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Kylian Mbappé shook off a missed penalty kick to score his eighth goal of this year’s World Cup, helping France beat Morocco 2-0 and reach the semifinals for the third time in a row.
Now Les Bleus have to hope he can overcome an injury that had him summoning for help and leaving the game in the 77th minute. Mbappé said the injury was minor, and he showed no ill effects while celebrating with his team after the whistle.
“I took a knock to the ankle, but I’m fine,” said Mbappé, who was replaced by Jean-Philippe Mateta. “At that point, JP was in better shape than I was to play the final minutes.”
The reigning Golden Boot winner and only the second teenager — after Pele — ever to score in a World Cup final, Mbappé made up for his miss on a first-half penalty by scoring in the 60th minute. It was his 20th goal in 20 World Cup games and his eighth in 2026, equaling Argentina captain Lionel Messi for the tournament lead.
Mbappé also assisted on Ousmane Dembélé’s goal six minutes later to help the two-time champions reach the semifinals, where they will play either Spain or Belgium. France has never failed to make a World Cup final in two previous tournaments with Mbappé.
“There’s only one way to relax, and that’s by winning,” Mbappé said. “Until we’ve done that, we don’t let up. We’re in the semifinals and we’re very happy, but there’s still a long way to go. We realize that what lies ahead is even tougher than what we’ve been through, but we’re ready to face anything.”
Asked if this was his strongest France team yet, Mbappé said it has the most potential — “for the time being.”
“But I always say that the strongest teams are the ones that win,” he said. “I don’t see a World Cup next to me, so for now, we’re not the strongest team.”
Mbappé gave France fans a scare when he went to the field in pain after he was stepped on by Morocco defender Issa Diop in the 63rd minute. He remained in the game until the 76th minute, when he dropped to the turf and waved to the sideline.
After the training staff checked on him, Mbappé was subbed off — waving to the Gillette Stadium crowd as he left — and watched the end of the match from the bench with an ice pack on his right ankle.
“It’s a slight pain in the ankle,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. “Nothing serious.”
Mbappé had a chance from the penalty spot in the first half after drawing a foul from Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui in the box in the 28th minute. But goalkeeper Yassine Bounou guessed correctly, diving to his left to stop the attempt.
Mbappé said the long delay while the play was being reviewed left him wondering if he would be attempting the shot at all.
“It’s complicated, because there’s some kind of imbroglio,” he said. “I let myself be de-concentrated. That’s a scenario I hadn’t experienced yet.”
But Mbappé delivered in the second half when he dribbled into the area and let loose a rocket that went just inside the post.
Messi also has scored eight goals at the tournament and Norway forward Erling Haaland has seven heading into their quarterfinal matches on Saturday. (Mbappé technically holds the Golden Boot lead because he has more assists, which is the tiebreaker.)
Mbappé’s 20th goal put him one behind Messi on the all-time World Cup scoring list. Messi has 21 goals in 31 career World Cup matches over six tournaments, breaking the record of 16 that had been held by Germany striker Miroslav Klose.
___
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here